


The Orphan: An MCU Fanfiction

by Anastacia_Lynn



Series: The Orphans [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-10
Updated: 2016-06-10
Packaged: 2018-07-26 09:17:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7568656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anastacia_Lynn/pseuds/Anastacia_Lynn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While being held hostage by the Ten Ring, Tony Stark meets a strange girl. After breaking them out, Stark brings the girl back to US with him, he soon discovers that she has very unique gifts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

The Orphan

An MCU Fanfiction

By Anastacia Lynn

 

Chapter One

Disclaimer: I don’t own any characters that are copyrighted by Marvel/Disney.  I do own Yekaterina (Trina) Savinkoff-Stark. 

  **A.N: This fanfiction is the first of a series.  It will span the entire MCU timeline.  This story is starting at the first Iron Man film and moving onward.  There will be other stories and characters as well, if I can wrestle them to the ground in my brain, then pull them out and stick them to the digital pages of my computer’s writing program.**

2996; 2997; 2998; 2999; 3000 grains of sand in this cubic centimeter.  That’s twelve cubic centimeters down and 8,361,273,588 left to count.  So far there were 36,008 grains of sand.

            How else was Yekaterina supposed to pass the time as she waited for her body to slowly die from starvation?  She certainly didn’t want to think about the fact that she was only eleven years old and probably shouldn’t be able to count that high, or be able to compute such large numbers so well.  Did normal girls her age even know about cubic centimeters?  Probably not.  She also shouldn’t be able to see each tiny grain of sand with so little light.  She shouldn’t be able to understand all the languages these people were speaking; she’d never heard most of them before.

            Chalk it all up to how different she was.

            She had been in this hell cave for almost three weeks with little to no food and a gallon of water per day.

            _“I should be dead,”_ she thought.  _“Why can’t these people just come in and shoot me”_

             She knew the answer already; they wanted a ransom exchange. That’s why they kidnapped her from the lab in Hungary. They hoped to trade her back for the weapon the scientist there were developing.

            _“Idiots.  I am the weapon.”_

            The “scientists” murdered her family and spent nine years putting her through painful injections and experimentations to make her their new soldier.  A living weapon, under their full control.  She didn’t even know who “they” were.  Just that awful read insignia.

            Just three weeks ago she heard the “Baron”, as he was called, speaking in German.  For the past five months she had not only been uncooperative, as usual, but she had ceased speaking at all and ate as little as possible.  The Baron had been speaking over the phone with someone and they were contemplating whether or not to put an end to the project and killing Yeketerina all together.

            _“Like they killed_ her _,”_ Yekaterina pulled her mind away from that thought.  She couldn’t think of _her_.

            Two days later this new group had broken into the factory looking for weapons to fuel their aspirations for world domination. All they found was Yekaterina. Believing that the Baron and his organization wouldn’t have had her so heavily guarded if she wasn’t important, they grabbed her and ran.

            Yekaterina didn’t even put up a fight.  She was just to worn down.

            _“I just want to die,”_ she thought.

            She wanted the pain to end. The pain in her head that felt like jackhammers beating at her skull.  The pain in her back that felt like someone was clawing at it from the inside.  The burning pain in her hands that felt like they were constantly pressed to a stove top or open flame.  She wanted it all to stop.

            She heard the men outside making some sort of commotion, then they were carrying a bleeding, unconscious man in to the room.  The imprisoned doctor, Yensin, started talking to them in an Arabic dialect.  The new man was their prisoner now, they wanted Yensin to patch the man up so he, the man, could make them a weapon called the Jericho missile.

            She heard them tell Yensin that the man’s name was Tony Stark…

 

**A.N.: I know the description of what happened to Yekaterina is ambiguous, but more will be revealed as the story, and later the series, progresses. Some may be aware what the red insignia is (I’m assuming you’ve watched more of the MCU films than just Iron Man), but, as far as this point, few know they still exist. As for who “she” is, that will be revealed later in the series, but not this story.**

**All thanks to BouncingKappa and Singer of Water for all the help filling in my plot hole.**


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While being held hostage by the Ten Ring, Tony Stark meets a strange girl. After breaking them out, Stark brings the girl back to US with him, he soon discovers that she has very unique gifts.

Chapter Two

 

Disclaimer: I don’t own any characters that are copyrighted by Marvel/Disney.  I do own Yekaterina (Trina) Savinkoff-Stark. 

 

Yinsen worked for hours trying to extract all the shrapnel from Tony Stark’s chest and other extremities.  He knew that he would not be able to get all of them, so to keep the rest from entering the man’s atrial septum Yinsen had to implant an electromagnet into Stark’s chest.  He used a car battery as a power source.  Sadly, this would only last a week, at best.

            After Yinsen was done, he sat back and waited for the famous Tony Stark to wake up.  As he waited, Yinsen turns to stare at the other prisoner her.  She looked like such a fragile thing, with her once golden curls and bright green eyes.  Yinsen knew that their captures were getting impatient for the ransom they requested to be delivered by those the Ten Rings stole her from, the girl had been brought here in the middle of April and it was now the third of May.  These men would probably put a bullet in her soon.  It was a sad reality.

            Yinsen decided to rest, it was at least ten in the evening, now, and Stark would probably be out for another six hours.

            ~~~~****~~~~

Tony Stark awoke with a gasp, and immediately noticed tubing in his nostril, which he proceeded to pull out.  He then turned to his left and saw a table next to him and further away was a man looking into a mirror and shaving.  Stark tried to grab something to attack the man when said man spoke up.

            “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

            Ignoring the man, Stark tried to crab a bottle to hit the man over the head, but was held back by something.  Looking to his right stark saw a car battery, it’s wires leading under the gauze wrapped around his chest.  Tearing away at the wrappings revealed a metal, circular object imbedded in Stark’s own chest.

            Yekaterina had watched it all; Stark’s arrival, Yinsen being told to remove all the shrapnel and him telling their captures it was almost completely impossible, but they wouldn’t allow that answer.  These desert men told Yinsen, on no uncertain terms, that if Stark died they would also kill Yinsen as well.  So Yinsen removed as many metal barbs as he could and then implanted the large electromagnet to keep the remaining shards from killing Stark.

            She now continued to observe Stark and Yinsen; not just with her eyes, but listening with her ears and feeling with her _other_ sense.

            Months after the Baron and his group had started the tortures they called science, Yekaterina’s new sense immerged.  It was vague at first, but soon grew stronger.  She could feel the emotions of those around her as if they were her own.  She couldn’t hear thoughts just feel their feeling. It went further than just inner emotions, if one of them was hurt, Yekaterina felt it as if she were hurt.  Someone’s broken arm made her feel like her arm was broken. It grew from there, prior to her abandonment, she was slowly able to make her guards feel what she wished them to feel.  It was why they were so unfocused the day these terrorists broke in.

            She focused this ability on these two fellow prisoners in order to get a grasp on who they were.  She didn’t know why she cared, as she had decided to let herself either wither away, or get one of her newer captures to kill her.  Curiosity, I guess, is a hard urge to fight.

            She watched Yinsen prepare some sort of beans on an iron skillet, and listened to him and Stark speak.

            “What did you do to me?” Stark asks.

            “I saved your life. I removed all the shrapnel I could,” says Yinsen, “but there’s a lot left and it’s headed into your atrial septum.  Here, want to see?  I have a souvenir.”  Yinsen holds up a very small jar with tiny metal fragments inside.  “Take a look.”  Then he hands the jar over to Stark.

            With a morbid curiosity, Stark examines the shrapnel that had been removed from his own body.

            Yinsen continues on; “I’ve seen many wounds like that in my village.  We call them the walking dead because it takes a week for the barbs to reach the vital organs.”

            “What’s this?” Stark asked, referring to the devise in his own chest.

            “That is an electromagnet,” Yinsen replied, “hooked up to a car battery, and it’s keeping the shrapnel from entering your heart.”

            Stark looked up and sees a video camera trained on him.

            Seeing where Stark is looking Yinsen states, “That’s right.  Smile.”

            Yekaterina observed the exchange and wondered why Yinsen felt such a strange mix of pity and guilty amusement. Stark appeared to be in shock, though she couldn’t blame him; she doubted that this Stark fellow ever expected to be a hostage by terrorist.  She got an underlining sense of arrogance and achievement.  This man was probably very wealthy and lived somewhere where the possibility of being kidnapped by middle eastern terrorists was very remote.

            “We met once, you know,” said Yinsen. “At a technical conference in Bern.”

            “I don’t remember,” replied Stark quietly.

            “No, you wouldn’t. If I had been that drunk, I wouldn’t be able to stand, much less give a lecture on integrated circuits.”

            Yekaterina’s mind seemed to absorb what she heard and felt and came to the conclusion that this man, Stark, was wealthy and probably a genius. But she also got the impression that Stark didn’t conform to the standards of behavior set by others.

            “Where are we?” Stark asks.

            Before Yinsen can answer, there is a shouting heard outside the door on a foreign tongue. “Come on, stand up. Stand Up!” says Yinsen as he pulls Stark to his feet. “Do as I do,” Yinsen stresses. “Come on, put your hands up.” Yinsen then places his own hands behind his head and Stark does the same.

            Stark looks at the men in surprise. “Those are my guns. How did they get my guns?”

            “Do you understand me? Do as I do.”

            One of the men stepped in front of the others. Yekaterina recognizes him as a Lieutenant, of sorts, in this terrorist army. His name is Abu Bakar and Yekaterina knew this because the men were no longer careful of what they said around her. Her lack of any communication had them all assuming she was either deaf or stupid.

            Bakar began speaking Pashtu as Yinsen translated to Stark.

            “He says, ‘Welcome, Tony Stark, the most famous mass murderer in the history of America.’

He is honored”

            Bakar looks down at a photo in his hand, then continues

            “He wants you to build the missile. The Jericho missile that you demonstrated.”

            Bakar hands Yinsen the photo.

            “This one.” Yinsen says as he shows stark the photo.

            “I refuse,” states Stark stubbornly.

            Bakar yells an order and his men instantly seize Stark and drag him outside.

            Yekaterina can here splashing and suspects that Stark is having his head held under water. Then more men come and drag Yinsen out, as well. She can here both Yinsen and Stark being taken outside.

            _‘There probably about to get shot,’_ thinks Yekaterina.

            She closes her eyes feeling weightless and thinks her prayers for death have finally been answered. Instead a blinding white light flashes behind her eyes and when it clears she sees a strange sight.

            _Stark stands in a suit of dirty metal, while Yinsen types fast on a laptop. Suddenly Yinsen looks up and mumbles that he needs to buy more time. Stark yells at Yinsen to stick to the plan. Moment later the armor lights up and the helm falls over Stark’s face. Using the armor, he shoots and burns the terrorists in order to free himself. An explosion occurs blasting him many yards away._

            After the vision clears Yekaterina opens her eyes and gives a sad smile. At least Stark won’t die here, and once he’s free perhaps he can put a stop to this crazy group.

            Another flash happens and this time she sees something months ahead of time.

            _A new suit of armor, this one red and gold, begins shooting at insurgents holding innocent people hostage. He destroys their weapons and liberates the villagers. He hands over a man, Bakar, to the people and says, “He’s all yours.”_

            Before she can open her eyes again a third vision occurs.

            _She is lying on an examination table there are doctors surrounding her. She begins to panic and starts to fight them. Suddenly Stark is there. He holds her hand and tells her not to worry neither he or Pepper, as he tilts his head toward a red haired woman behind him, will let anyone hurt her. He says they just want to take a small amount of blood and to keep her eyes on him. He promised he’d look after her and he’s going to keep that promise._

            Yekaterina is gasping as this last vision clears. _‘He’ll protect me?’_ she thinks in wonder.

            Can she really trust what she just saw?

 

**A.N. Sorry this chapter is a day late. Cleaning my apartment took more of my time then I thought. Sorry if this chapter goes a bit slow or repeats from the movie too much. I wanted to get Yekaterina’s private thoughts in before she begins interacting with Tony Stark. Plus, I was trying to bridge her previous idea of throw in the towel with her sudden desire to help Tony escape. So please R &R and thank you to those who reviewed, favorited, and or followed this story.**

**I-am-a-Ice-cream-lover: Thank you. I got the name from watching a documentary about Katherine the Great. (Did you know her name at birth was Sophie) Yekaterina is how her name is pronounced in Russian. She chose the name after converting to Russian Orthodox.**

**Ashes2Dust18: I know I could have put it under Iron Man in comics, but it is based on the movie (I can’t afford to buy and read all the comics, there are forty years’ worth to read) I figured putting it under avengers was the best plan as the series continues throughout the MCU.**


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While being held hostage by the Ten Ring, Tony Stark meets a strange girl. After breaking them out, Stark brings the girl back to US with him, he soon discovers that she has very unique gifts.

Chapter Three

 

Disclaimer: I don’t own any characters that are copyrighted by Marvel/Disney.  I do own Yekaterina (Trina) Savinkoff-Stark. 

 

**A.N. As this is the first chapter in which Yekaterina actually speaks, I should mention that her accent is similar to Pietro and Wanda’s. You’ll understand why later in this chapter.**

 

Yekaterina was still thinking about her visions when Stark and Yinsen were both dragged back into the small room. The terrorists left and locked the steel doors upon leaving.

            Stark sat down and stared at the table, not really seeing it. Knowing where his mind was headed Yekaterina made a small sound to make him look her way.

            Stark turned to the darkened corner and saw the small girl for the first time. She was tiny and emaciated, with what may have been golden blond hair, but it was oily and caked with dirt. Stark was surprised he didn’t notice the child before, but given recent events it was understandable.

            “Who’s she?” he asked Yinsen.

            “Her? She was captured weeks ago, with the hopes of ransoming her back for a weapon more powerful than your Jericho. So far, however there has been no response back. I assume she will be executed soon, as she is deaf and mute, and of no use.” Yinsen shook his head at the prediction of another needless death.

            “I’m neither, thank you very much,” said a quiet voice from the corner. “I just didn’t feel like talking. I’m not completely sure why I’m bothering now.”

            Yinsen’s eyes widened. He looked at the diminutive girl in the corner who was struggling to sit up. He quickly rushed over to assist her, no sooner had his hand touched her the poor child stiffened and flinched before trying to pull away. The effort caused her to fall back into the sand.

            “I’m only trying to help,” Yinsen assured the girl.

            “No offense, but I don’t know you and I don’t trust ‘doctors’.” Yekaterina knew the man was nothing like the lab doctors she was used to, but old reservations still held strong inside her. “I’ve had my fill of being poked and prodded to last me five hundred lifetimes.”

            “No offense taken,” Yinsen assured her. “But you obviously need assistance and I’ve noticed you’ve barely eaten anything since arriving here. I only wish to help you to the table so I can get some nutrients inside you. No poking or prodding required.”

            Yekaterina looked into Yinsen’s eyes reading him inside and out. Coming to the decision that she could trust the Middle Eastern man, Yekaterina placed her arm around the back of Yinsen’s neck as he put one arm behind her back and the other under her knees. He picked her up and carried her to the table where Stark sat, withdrawn.

            Steadying herself, Yekaterina looked closer at Stark and said in wonder, “Is this what I’ve looked like all this time? It’s really sad.”

            Stark didn’t bat an eye at her statement. That wasn’t good. If Stark withdrew to far he wouldn’t be able to free himself. Yekaterina had lost hope in actually leaving herself, despite what she had seen, but his man could make a difference once free. She couldn’t let that be destroyed by this man’s depression.

            Yinsen’s voice pulled Yekaterina voice from her own thoughts, “I’m sorry for my assumptions, but…”

            “Isn’t there a saying about people who assume?” Yekaterina gave a weak smile to the doctor to let him know she held no ill will.

            “Very true, but you need to eat, you are only skin and bones.” Yinsen placed a plate in front of her on it were the beans he has cooked earlier.

            Yekaterina looked down at the food in front of her. She knew Yinsen was right, but she’d been living of barely any nourishment for so long the thought of eating all that was on the plate made her stomach twist. Still she needed to start eating again, so she tried to pick up one of the utensils, but the lack of nutrients had taken its toll. Yekaterina couldn’t lift the spoon more than six inches before her hands started to shake so bad she dropped the spoon.

            Yinsen saw this and wanted to help, but he knew the girl’s stubbornness wouldn’t allow her to let him feed her. He watched as the girl tried thrice more before he decided to risk her irritation and took the spoon; scooping up a small amount of the beans he held the spoon in front of the child’s face waiting for her to open her mouth.

            Yekaterina glared first at the doctor then the spoon, but she knew she was too weak to feed herself, so swallowing her pride, Yekaterina opened her mouth and allowed Yinsen to feed her like an infant. He stopped a few times to hold up a cup of water to her lips, which Yekaterina gladly drank. After the food and water were finished Yekaterina felt full for the first time in over a month. After all, she began her hunger strike back before the Ten Rings had stolen her.

            Now that Yekaterina’s nutritional health was temporarily taken care of, both she and Yinsen looked over at Stark.

            While Yinsen had been attending Yekaterina, Stark had moved to sit in front of the fire. Yinsen walked over to him and Yekaterina followed.

            “I’m sure they’re looking for you Stark,” Yinsen assured him. “But they will never find you in these mountains.”

            Stark ignored him and continued to stare into the flames. Yekaterina could feel the man’s depression and sense of hopelessness growing.

            “Look what you just saw,” Yinsen continued, “that is your legacy, Stark. Your life’s work in the hands of those murderers. Is that how you want to go out? Is this the last act of defiance of the great Tony Stark? Or are you going to do something about it?”

            “Why should I do anything?” Stark asked. “They’re going to kill me, and you two, either way. And if they don’t, I’ll probably be dead in a week.”

            Yekaterina sat down next to Stark she focused her power and boosted Stark’s hope just a bit before saying, “Well, then it sounds like this is very, important week for you, is it not?”

            Stark looked over at the girl, she looked better now that she had food in her system, but she still looked like hell.

            “How did you get here, anyway?” questioned Stark. “You don’t look like you’re from this region.”         

            “I am from Sokovia,” answered Yekaterina with what Stark just realized was an Eastern European accent. “My parents were shot by man with red star on his arm.” Yekaterina patted the side of her left arm. “He took me to place where there was lots of people in white coats and they tied me down to table. Then they stuck needles filled with blue liquid into my arms. The liquid burned my insides and that is when I start to get pains in my head. And my back feel like there is knife inside trying to get out. There are also my hands, they feel like they are always on fire.”

            Stark looked at the strange child. He could tell by the fear and pain in the girl’s eyes that she wasn’t lying. “How old are you?” he inquired.

            Yekaterina shrugged, “Lab men say I was born on the thirtieth of April in 1997. And I was ‘acquired’ on the seventh of July in 1999.”

            Listening to Stark’s inquiry Yinsen piped in, “I heard the men say that today is the seventeenth of May, and the year is 2008. That makes you eleven years old and only two when you were taken. It, also, means you have been here a month, tomorrow. And you Stark, have been here two weeks already.”

            Yekaterina looked at Stark again, feeling the hopelessness rising in him, again. She once more gave a tiny boost of hope before stating, “I think if you would stop moping you might make it out of here.”

            A spark of an idea suddenly struck Stark and he turned to Yinsen. “Go tell the men that I have list of supplies and other similar needs. I may have a plan to keep my heart going far longer than this battery is going to allow.”

            Yinsen gave Stark a confused look but did as he was asked. Yekaterina pondered what she was feeling from Stark; he was elated and hopeful with a strong surge of confidence and assurity. He definitely was confident that whatever this plan was, it would work.

            Yekaterina went back to her corner; the less those other men saw of her, the better. Soon men were coming in bring tools and weapons all being ordered by Stark, translated by Yinsen. When the terrorists were gone Stark began to deconstruct one of the missiles.

            “How many languages do you speak?” Stark suddenly asked Yinsen.

            “A lot,” Yinsen replied. “But apparently, not enough for this place. They speak Arabic, Urdu, Dari, Pashto, Mongolian, Farsi, Russian.”

            “Who are they?” Stark asked.

            “They are your loyal customers, sir,” answered Yinsen

            “They call themselves the Ten Rings,” Yekaterina suddenly piped in.

            Yinsen looked at the girl in confusion. “They’ve never spoken English around you; how do you know what they call themselves?”

            Yekaterina shrugged. “I can’t explain it. When I hear someone speak, I understand them. It doesn’t matter what language they are speaking; my brain translates it instantly. A wonderful side effect of almost nine years as a lab rat.”

            Stark continues to take apart the missile as the two speak.

            “You know we might be more productive if you include me in the planning process,” Yinsen states.

            “Hm,” Stark says off-handedly as he removes the nose cone and pulls out the war head. He then takes a small piece of metal out of the war head and throws the rest of the war head behind him somewhere, saying, “Okay, we don’t need this.”

            Both Yinsen and Yekaterina look at the tiny metal fragment and Yinsen asks the question on both their minds. “What is that?”

            Holding the metal up, Stark replies, “That’s palladium, 0.15 grams. We need 1.6, so why don’t you go break down the other eleven,” Stark says to Yinsen.

            “How can I help’” asks Yekaterina.

            “You can make a clay mold,” Stark replies. He then has her work with clay sand and pack it into a stone cup. Then he has her press a circular clamp of about four diameters lightly into the clay to make a shallow ring shaped impression.

            Yinsen is told to melt the palladium over the fire to place in the mold.

            While both Yinsen and Yekaterina are working Stark sketches weapon designs.

            “Careful,” warns Stark as Yinsen slowly moves away from the fire and towards the table where the clay mold sits. “Careful. We only get one shot at this.”

            “Relax” says Yinsen. “I have steady hands. Why do you think you’re still alive?”

            As Yinsen pours the molten palladium into the mold Stark asks, “What do I call you, two?”

            “My name is Yinsen.”

            “Yinsen. Nice to meet you,” says Stark.

            “Nice to meet you, too”

            Both men look to Yekaterina. “My name is Yekaterina Savinkoff.”

            “It is nice to meet you, as well,” says Yinsen.

            Stark looks at the girl with a confused expression. “Yucky-trina?”

            “No,” says Yekaterina, offended. “It’s Yek-ah-ter-een-ah,” she says slower.

            “I’m just going to call you Trina,” replies Stark. “It’s much easier to say.”

            Yekaterina, or “Trina”, as she is now known, rolls her eyes and grumbled, “There is nothing difficult about my name.” Secretly, however, she likes her new nick-name.

            After the palladium has cooled to a solid, Stark gently removes it from the mold. He then continues with rest of his project, soldering various small metal components together. He works for several days, until he finishes his new device; a round glowing device.

            “That doesn’t look like a Jericho missile,” observes Yinsen, as he and Trina look at the thing Stark has made.

            “That’s because it’s a miniaturized arc reactor,” replies Stark. “I got a big one powering my factory at home. It should keep the shrapnel out of my heart.”

            “But what would it generate?” asks Yinsen.

            “If my math is correct, and it always is, three gigajoules per second,” says Stark

            “I’m guessing that’s a lot,” remarks Trina.

            “That could run your heart for fifty lifetimes,” says Yinsen.

            “So, definitely a lot,” comments Trina.

            “Yeah, or something big for fifteen minutes,” says Stark. He then hands them a bunch of sketch papers, on each on are sketches for different weapons; one on each. “This is our ticket out of here.”

            “What is it?” asks Yinsen, while Trina wondered the same.

            “Flatten them out and look.”

            Yinsen does so, flattening them over the lighted drawing board. Both he and Trina look and see that each separate design fits together to form a specialized suit of armor.

            Trina realized it was the same armor she saw in her first vision. “It look like the Tin Woodsman after a week-long hunger binge,” Trina commented. Both men turned to look at her; Yinsen was trying to hold back laughter, while Stark gave her a look that was both amused and wounded.

            _‘Well, at least Stark will get out of here,’_ Trina thinks, still not holding any belief that she will.

            Yinsen then tells Trina to try and eat, again, as he has Stark lie back down on the operating table. Yinsen then implants the arc reactor into Stark’s chest so the genius won’t have to carry the device in his hands.

 

**A.N. Sorry this chapter took so long, but I had to do some research on missile components in order to be sure I was using the correct terms. As well as various science, math, and engineering terms. I’m an accounting major, not an engineer.**

**I want to state the Yekaterina, or Trina, isn’t trying to manipulate Tony Stark. She doesn’t believe she’ll make it out. Too many years of a bad situation and untrustworthy people have left her without much faith.**

**Also, if you haven’t guessed who the guy with the red star on his left arm is, you need to rewatch Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe again. I’m deliberately not using his name or the name of the organization he works for. Remember, at this time he’s a myth/ghost, and THEY were stopped back in WWII. The only ones who know for sure of their existence are other members.**

**Finally, some of you may have noticed (if you are browsing the full site instead of the mobile site) that I added a photo to the story. The photo is supposed to be what Yekaterina, or Trina, would look like as an adult in the comics. I created that image on doll divine . com, in one of the games called X-Girl. You use it to design your own female X-Men. (They didn’t have one for the Avengers.) Yekaterina’s superhero name is Miracle, and her armor is supposed to be Asgardian. (You’ll find out why later in the series.)**


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While being held hostage by the Ten Ring, Tony Stark meets a strange girl. After breaking them out, Stark brings the girl back to US with him, he soon discovers that she has very unique gifts.

Chapter Four

 

Disclaimer: I don’t own any characters that are copyrighted by Marvel/Disney.  I do own Yekaterina (Trina) Savinkoff-Stark.

 

**As memo before you start reading: I have no idea how speak or write in any eastern languages. So any time you see italic writing in double quotation marks, it means the speaker isn’t speaking English. I will tell you what language they’re speaking, as well. Hopefully soon I’ll be able to type in another language. As an added remark, italic in single quotation marks is thinking.**

 

Trina sat and watched Yinsen teach Stark how to play backgammon. She had no desire to learn the game for herself.

            “Good roll,” Yinsen said when Stark dropped the dice on the board. “Good roll.”

            “You still haven’t told me where you’re from,” Stark said to Yinsen.

            “I’m from a small town called Gulmira,” replies Yinsen. “It’s actually a nice place.”

            “Got a family?”

            “Yes, and I will see them when I leave here. And you Stark?”

            Stark looked away with a mumbled, “No.”

            “No? So you’re a man who has everything and nothing.”

            Both men looked over at Trina.

            “I told you, I’m from Sokovia, and both my parents are dead,” remarked Trina. She didn’t want to discuss her family. She could barely remember them and Yelizabeta… No, she wouldn’t talk about _her_.

            “You didn’t have any other family?” Yinsen inquires.

            “I had a sister,” replies Trina. “She is dead, too.”

            Trina then goes back to her corner, signally she refused to talk any more.

            Memories of Yelizabeta still haunted Trina. Trina knew rationally that her twin’s death wasn’t her fault but that didn’t stop guilt. The wish to have done something, anything, different and to not have her sister’s death on her conscience was still as strong now as it was four years ago.

            _The look of horror in Yelizabeta’s eyes as the knife slid across her throat. The blood flowing from the fresh wound and Yekaterina pulling at the straps that held her to the chair and forced her to watch as the life left Yelizabeta’s eyes._

            Trina shook her head to clear the memories. Her sister’s death was why she didn’t fear dying; at least she would be with her sister then.

            ~~~~****~~~~

Stark and Yinsen worked to make each part of the armor, with Trina running around as their gofer. Sparks flew as the two men welded components and Trina often had to wear safety goggles, as requested by both men. In this way, weeks passed, getting them closer to escaping their captivity.

            Trina, however, was concerned. She could sense the emotions of the men outside and they were growing impatient and angry. Soon watching the captives from the cameras wouldn’t be enough. If these militants caught on the entire plan was ruined.

            That day came almost three months into Stark’s captivity. The men came into the room, shouting in multiple eastern dialects and holding their guns to the three captives. The three prisoners responded by placing their hands on top of their heads.

            “Relax,” said a new man who seemed to hold more authority than the others, including Abu. His name was Raza, and Stark was surprised the man spoke English.

            Raza walked up to Stark and examined the arc reactor. “The bow and arrow,” Raza began, “was once the pinnacle of weapons technology. It allowed the great Genghis Khan to rule from the Pacific to the Ukraine. An empire twice the size of Alexander the Great and four times the size of the Roman Empire.” While he was stating this history lesson, Raza walked around the room examining everything that Stark and the other two had been working on. But today,” Raza continued, while picking up and examining Stark’s weapon sketches, “whoever holds the latest Stark weapons rules these lands. And soon it will be my turn.”

            Raza walked back over to Stark before looking down at the girl who had moved to stand next to Stark. “We should have killed you, months ago. I guess we’ll take care of that now.” Raza turned to one of his men and in Pashto said, “ _Shoot her_ ”

            The unnamed man grabbed Trina in order to do what he was told, but he felt this overwhelming sense of panic. It felt like his heart was racing and he immediately broke into a cold sweat. He started screaming in Urdu.

            This caused Raza to order the man to be shot himself. Before Raza could order another man to do what the first man couldn’t Stark spoke up. “Could you let her live a little longer? She’s a good runner and does what she’s told without talking back.”

            Trina didn’t like what Stark had said, but knew from his emotions that he didn’t mean the words to be as condescending as they sounded. He was trying to prolong Trina’s life. But why? The man barely knew her, so why was he trying to keep her safe?

            Nodding, Raza once more looked at Stark staring right into the other man’s eye. “ _Why have you failed me,_ ” Raza said in Pashto, suddenly turning to look at Yinsen.

            “ _We’re working,_ ” Yinsen replied in Pashto. “ _Diligently._ ”

            “ _I let you live. This is how you repay me?_ ”

            “ _It’s very complex. He’s trying very hard._ ”

            “ _On his knees,_ ” Raza ordered and his men quickly forced Yinsen to his knees. “ _You think me I’m a fool?_ ” He turns around and, using the blacksmith tongs, grabs a piece of metal and heats it to red hot. “ _I’ll get the truth._ ”

            “ _We’re both working,_ ” Yinsen insists.

            Raza brings the red hot piece of metal over to where Yinsen was being held down. “ _Open your mouth,_ ” Raza commands.

            “What does he want?” Stark asks, not understanding what’s happening at first.

            “ _You think I am a fool?_ ” Raza asks, as he continues to question Yinsen. “ _What’s going on? Tell me the truth._ ”

            “ _He’s building your Jericho,_ ” assures Yinsen.

            “ _Tell me the truth!_ ”

            “ _He’s building your Jericho._ ”

            “ _TELL ME THE TRUTH!_ ”

            “ _He’s building your Jericho._ ”

            “What do you want?” Stark asks. “A delivery date?” He steps forward and the militants begin shouting and pointing their guns at him. “I need him. Him and the kid make good assistants.”

            Raza drops the piece of metal and it lands inches from Yinsen’s face. “You have until tomorrow to assemble my missile.” With that said Raza tosses the tongs away and leaves with his men in tow.

            With their captures once again out of sight, Stark begins working with a renewed sense of purpose. Trina can sense the man’s determination to see the three of them free of this prison. She was still wondering why he saved her, though. She was certain he could still continue his plan without her. Yinsen was far more useful than Trina. Her experience with people, so far, was that they were mostly self-serving and didn’t care about the lives of others. So why did Stark keep her from having another man try to shoot her.

            Trina’s own powers had caused the first man to have a fear induced panic attack and she was certain she could do it to any one of those men. That, however, was risky. She didn’t want any of them to catch on to her abnormalities. She refused to be anyone’s weapon.

            The sound of metal hitting metal pulled Trina from her thoughts. Stark was using a blacksmith hammer to pound some metal into shape. What that shape was, only he knew.

            Trina sat next to Yinsen as he worked in some more delicate wiring. Suddenly Stark set something on the table in front of them. It was the newly finished face plate for the armor. Trina knew that they would have to put all the parts together by tomorrow. Then they could make their escape.

 

**Sorry for the long wait, but the rest of my life refuses to be put on hold.**

**I wasn’t sure whether or not to include the flashback about Trina’s twin. I asked five different people for advice and most of them agreed that it would be a good idea to give a glimpse in to Trina past to show just what the organization is capable of. Some of you may already know who those people are, I did send their best assassin to acquire the twins. But, they weren’t revealed to still be around till Cap 2. So, mum is the word. The twins were seven when Yelizabeta died.**

**For those who are confused about the term gofer: It’s a person who runs errands. You know, go for this and go for that.**

**Also, neither Stark, Yinsen, or Trina know Raza’s name. I just didn’t want to keep calling him the bald bad guy. I learned his name on the MCU Wiki.**


End file.
